stodgy

adjective \ ˈstä-jē \

Updated on: 8 Dec 2017

Definition of stodgy

stodgier; stodgiest

1 : having a rich filling quality : heavy

stodgy bread

2 : moving in a slow plodding way especially as a result of physical bulkiness

3 : boring, dull

out on a peaceful rather stodgy Sunday boat trip
—Edna Ferber

4 : extremely old-fashioned : hidebound

received a pompously Victorian letter from his stodgy father
—E. E. S. Montagu

5 a : drab

b : dowdy

—

stodgily

play \ˈstä-jə-lē\ adverb

—

stodginess

play \ˈstä-jē-nəs\ noun

See stodgy defined for English-language learners

See stodgy defined for kids

Examples of stodgy in a Sentence

the sitcom was offbeat and interesting in its first season, but has since become predictable and stodgy

Recent Examples of stodgy from the Web

Yet under Jacobs and now Ghesquière, Vuitton has become known as a fashion brand rather than a stodgy maker of bags and trunks.

— robert williams, Bloomberg.com, "Vuitton Knows Fashion Is a Money Pit—and Keeps Throwing Money in It," 24 Aug. 2017
Rooms are cozy but not stodgy, with charming toile wallpaper, über-comfortable mattresses, and C.O. Bigelow toiletries

— Condé Nast Traveler, "Kimpton Hotel Monaco Philadelphia," 20 Oct. 2017
The sport has worked hard to fight its stodgy reputation in an effort to attract younger fans.

— jared diamond, WSJ, "These Are Not Your Father’s Yankees," 12 Oct. 2017
Yet the gaokao system continues to give schools a strong incentive to stuff their students with stodgy facts.

— The Economist, "Salad daysChina’s yuppies want schools to be more laid-back," 12 Oct. 2017
But in return, the stodgy old Republicans bankrolling these operations can fight back.

— tiana lowe, National Review, "The Fashion Police Take On Politics," 30 Aug. 2017
Andras Schiff is both pianist and conductor for this subscription series, with a slightly stodgy program that should work well in practice.

— david allen, New York Times, "Classical Music in NYC This Week," 12 Oct. 2017
Despite plenty of examples to the contrary, hotel restaurants have a reputation for being stodgy and overpriced, the last resort of business travelers with expense accounts who are too tired to venture out in search of more interesting options.

— julia thiel, Chicago Reader, "Portsmith is a safe harbor for quality seafood," 1 Nov. 2017
The two teams' stodgy, uninspiring garbage even forced the Wembley fans to entertain themselves by throwing paper planes at the pitch.

— SI.com, "Michael Owen Tweets About His Boredom Watching England & it Backfires Horribly," 6 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stodgy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.